Shield for threaded flanges of electric outlet boxes



Sept. 26, 1961 A. TAKVORIAN ETAL 3,001,563

SHIELD FOR THREADED FLANGES OF ELECTRIC OUTLET BOXES Filed Oct. '7, 1960 INVENTORS; A.Tal voran and ERosenbe/y United States Patent 9 3,001,663 mm) FOR THREADED FLANGES 0F ELECTRIC OUTLET BOIES Aram Takvorian, 348 Walsh Court, and Edward Rosenberg, 1160 Ocean Ave., both of Brooklyn 30, N. Filed Oct. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 61,231 3 Claims. (Cl. 2203.4)

This invention relates to a shield used for the protection of threads on electric outlet box flanges.

It is well known that in the construction industry, electric outlet boxes and the like are installed by mounting them on temporary floor, ceiling or wall forms, and then pouring the concrete or applying the plaster wherein the boxes are to be contained. Despite careful mounting of the boxes and other steps taken to seal them from the entry of foreign matter, it frequently happens that wet concrete or plaster seep into the box enclosure and cover the threads on flanges contained therein, creating an undesirable condition as the flanges contain threaded holes which are the means whereby sleeves enclosing the wiring, cover plates, receptacles and the like are fastened to the outlet box. The necessity of removing hardened concrete or plaster :from flanges is a wasteful and not always easy task required of the electrician making electrical connections at the box. The common tried practice of trying to protect the flange and threaded hole by insertinga screw therein all too often meets with failure, as the solidified concrete or plaster makes it diflicult, if not impossible, to remove the screw.

Consequently, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a shield for temporarily covering the thread on flanges of electric outlet boxes while they are being installed.

It is another object of this invention to provide a shield for temporarily covering the thread on flanges of electric outlet boxes during installation, that is simple to install and easy to remove.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

In the attainment of the aforesaid objectives, the present invention contemplates the provision of a flat shield which may be octagonal in shape and be made of a plastic material and which comprises top and bottom sides, wherein the immediate front and remote rear edges of said sides are somewhat longer than the remaining six equal length edges. Edge pieces connect the top and bottom sides except that portions of the front edges thereof are not connected, thereby leaving a slotted opening in the shield through which the electric outlet box threaded flange will pass when the shield is inserted thereon. A portion of one half of the upper side of the shield is removed to facilitate a snug fitting of the shield against the inner face of the outlet box adjacent to the threaded flange projecting therefrom. Projections formed integral with and protruding from the inner faces of the top and bottom sides of the shield respectively, may be provided within the shield to seal the threaded hole in the flange enclosed by said casing.

One side of the shield is preferably fitted with an elongated upstanding shoulder extending the full length of the shield and parallel to the front edge of said shield, said shoulder extending across the shield a length coincident that of the edges perpendicular to said front edge, said shoulder being provided to facilitate removal of the shield from the flange.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompinying drawing showing, by way of ex- "ice ample, a preferred embodiment of the inventive concept.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the shield constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the shield shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of the shield shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view along line 44 of FIGURE 1 showing the shield inserted on an outlet box flange;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the shield; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of an electric outlet box looking up into the box in its installed position in a ceiling, illustrating the shield inserted in operative position on a threaded flange in the box.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing where like reference numerals indicate like parts, reference number 10 indicates the shield.

In the construction illustrated, the shield 10 is made of a material that will give a resilient construction, for example, plastic, and consists of flat and identical octagonal shaped, parallel spaced sides 11 and 12, said sides being longer in one horizontal axis than the other, so that the immediate front and remote rear peripheral edges 13 and 14 are somewhat longer than the remaining six end edges 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 which have equal lengths, with said top and bottom sides 11 and 12 of the shield 10 except along peripheral edge 13, being connected with each other by depending edge sections of substantially equal or greater thickness than sides 11 and 12, said edge sections being formed integral with and at a right angle to said sides along peripheral edges 14, 15, 16, 19 and 20 and along a portion of peripheral edges 17 and 18, so that the shield constitutes a contiguous, walled structure, completely enclosed around its top, bottom and edge surfaces except along its immediate front edge 13 and portions of the adjacent edges 17 and 18.

It should be understood that the shield described herein, has an octagonal configuration because it is intended for use in an octagonally shaped electric outlet box which is only one of a class of such boxes, and the shield configuration can be varied and/ or conformed to the shape of the box wherein it is to be used without limiting the intended scope of the inventive concept herein disclosed.

A slotted opening 21 is formed in the front of the shield 10 by sides 11 and 12 Where they are not connected along edge 13 and portions of adjacent edges 17 and 18, said slotted opening being provided to adapt the shield 10 to the outlet box flange to be enclosed therein. The slotted opening 21 has a width slightly in excess of the flange to be enclosed, and extends inwardly into the shield 10 to the near face 24 of the edge section along edge 14 of said shield.

The side 11 of the shield 10 has an upstanding elongated shoulder 22 projecting therefrom. The shoulder 22 is formed integral with side 11 along peripheral edges 16 and 19 of said side, and integral with the outer face of the side 11 along lines connecting the ends of peripheral edges 16 and 19 respectively. The shoulder 22 projects uniformly from side 11 a height slightly in excess of one-half the length of peripheral edge 16 of said side. 7

A portion of one half of top side 11 of the shield 10 has been removed, as best seen-in FIGURE 5, to facilitate a snug fitting of the shield against a recessed surface (illustrated in FIGURE 6), of the inner face of the outlet box adjacent the threaded flange projecting therefrom. The portion removed is described by a cutting plane perpendicular to edge 13 of the side 11, extending inwardly therefrom to the side edge surface 23 of shoulder 22, and thence at a right angle along the edge surface 23 to the intersection of peripheral edges 18 and 19 of side 11, and thence acutely along edge 18 of the side 11 to the intersection of peripheral edges 13 and 18 of side 11, and thence obtusely along edge 13 of side 11 a short distance to an intersection with the point of first entry.

The inner faces of top and bottom sides 11 and 12 of the shield have opposed dome-shaped projections and 26 formed integral with these faces and projecting outwardly therefrom a slight distance. The projections 25 and 26 are centrally located at the geometric center of the inner faces of sides 11 and 12 of the shield 10, and have a diameter slightly in excess that of the threaded hole in the outlet box flange to be enclosed by shield 10, so that the projections 25 and 26 tightly cover and seal the threaded hole in the flange when shield 10 is inserted over said flange (FIG. 4).

In operation:

The shield 10 is quickly and easily removably inserted as best illustrated in FIGURE 4, on a flange 27 of an electric outlet box 28 by grasping the top surface of shoulder 22 and the bottom or outer face of side 12 of shield 10 with the finger tips. The shield 10 is then positioned alongside the flange 27 with the slotted opening 21 of the shield opposed to the end edge 29 of the threaded flange and the shoulder 22 of the shield 10 disposed toward the end of the outlet box from which mechanical connections will be later made. The shield is then slidably inserted over the flange 27 until the end edge 29 of the flange strikes projections 25 and 26 of the shield. At this point a slight increase in sliding force will force the projections to ride over the end edge 29 of the threaded flange and by the same action extend shield sides 11, 12 downwardly and upwardly, respectively. When the shield is fully inserted, the near face 24 of the edge section along edge 14 of the shield 10 will lie immediate the end edge 29 of the flange, the projections 25 and 26 will lie in the threaded hole of the flange eflectively sealing it, the peripheral edges'13, 17 and 18 of the shield will rest against the similarly configural inner face of the outlet box 28, with the removed portion of the side 11 resting against recessed surface of the inner face (FIG, 6), and sides 11 and 12 of the shield due to their resilient construction will return to their original shape, thereby effectively enclosing the flange 27 of the electric outlet box to prevent the entry of concrete or plaster.

To remove the shield 10 from the flange 27, it is only necessary to insert a screw driver or the like between the inner face of outlet box 28 and side edge surface 23 of shoulder 22 of the shield 10. A slight levering of the screw driver will force the shield from the flange.

It is thus seen that a shield has been provided for electric outlet box threaded flanges that is inexpensive, reusable, simple to install and remove and capable of providing maximum protection for the threaded flange from concrete, plaster and the like during installation of the box.

It is apparent that the specific illustration shown and described has been given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that the structure above described is subject to wide variation and modification without departing from the scope or intent of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A shield for enclosing the threaded flange of an electric outlet box and the like, said shield comprising two substantially flat side portions, edge sections integral with'said side portions and maintaining said side portions in parallel spaced relationship for enclosing said flange, whereby each of said side portions has inner and outer surfaces, and opposed projections integral with said side portions and located upon the inner surfaces thereof, said projections fitting into the threaded portion of the flange, and an elongated shoulder integral With one of said side portions and projecting outwardly from the outer surface thereof, said shoulder having at least one side extending substantially perpendicularly to said outer surfaces.

2. A shield for enclosing the threaded flange of an electric outlet box and the like, said shield comprising an octagonal'body having parallel upper and lower wide surfaces and eight side surfaces, two of said side surfaces being located opposite each other and being of equal length which is greater than that of any of the other side surfaces, said body having a slot formed therein intermediate said upper and lower surfaces and having opposedsurfaces parallel thereto, said slot communicating with one of said two side surfaces of greater length and two of said other six side surfaces located on opposite sides of said one side surface of greater length, the sides of said slot extending perpendicularly to said one side surface of greater length, said slot being adapted to tightly enclose said threaded flange, an elongated shoulder integral with said body and projecting outwardly from one of said wide surfaces, said shoulder being substantially rectangular in shape and extending in a spaced adjacent parallel relationship to one of said side surfaces of greater length, said shoulder having at least one side extending substantially perpendicularly to said one wide surface, and dome-shaped projections integral with said body and located opposite each other upon said opposed surfaces of said slot, said projections fitting into the threaded portion of the flange.

3. A shield for enclosing the flange of an electric outlet box having an angularly raised surface adjacent the flange, said shield comprising a'substantially polygonal body having parallel upper and lower wide surfaces and a plurality of side surfaces, two of said side surfaces being located opposite each other and being of equal length, other side surfaces extending between the two first-mentioned side surfaces and beingof smaller length than that of the two first-mentioned side surfaces, said body having a slot formed therein intermediate said upper and lower surfaces and parallel thereto, said slot communicating with one of the two first-mentioned side surfaces of greater length and two of the other side surfaces of smaller length located on opposite sides of said one side surface of greater length, the sides of said slot extending perpendicularly to said one side surface of greater length, said slot being adapted to tightly enclose said flange, and an elongated shoulder integral with said body and projecting outwardly from one of said wide surfaces, said shoulder being substantially rectangular in shape and extending in a spaced adjacent parallel relationship to one of the two first-mentioned side surfaces of greater length, said shoulder having at least one side extending substantially perpendicularly to said one wide surface, said body having formed therein an angular recess covering in length a portion of one of the two first-mentioned side surfaces of greater length and an adjacent side surface of smaller lengthand covering in height the distance between said slot and one of said wide surfaces, said recess fitting against said angularly raised surface of the electric outlet box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,830,383 Bos Nov. 3, 1931 1,854,081 Tucker Apr. 12, 1952 2,794,568 Johnson June 4, 1957 

